Empire Magazine October 2022 DANIEL CRAIG KNIVES OUT Ana De Armas Marilyn Monroe

Rian Johnson’s Knives Out was more than it first appeared to be – an original, star-studded murder-mystery that riffed and twisted on the conventions of classic Agatha Christie tales to create something totally new, while delivering all the genre thrills you’d expect of a traditional whodunnit. And at the centre of it was some delicious social commentary that made Johnson’s puzzle an even tastier cinematic treat. It was, you could say, a doughnut of a movie – much like the kind that Daniel Craig’s southern-fried detective Benoit Blanc philosophised about while unpicking the murder of Harlan Thrombey. Now, three years later, Johnson and Craig are back with a brand new Knives Out mystery – the secretive, sunshine-drenched, similarly star-studded, not-exactly-a-sequel Glass Onion. Something is, once again, afoot – but how are Johnson, Craig and co. hoping to surprise us all for a second time?

With a fresh ensemble cast, a brand new globe-trotting location, and a different murder-mystery to unravel (in the midst of a lavish murder-mystery game, no less), Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will cook up another curious case for Benoit Blanc. The world-exclusive new issue of Empire has the inside scoop on Johnson’s attempt to follow up everything we loved about Knives Out, while delivering something equally unexpected. As well as Craig and Johnson, we speak to the likes of Edward Norton, Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson, Lesle Odom Jr. and Janelle Monáe to get acquainted with Blanc’s latest crop of suspects – with never-before-seen images and more. Not only that, but we celebrate Johnson’s entire career so far – with a major new deep-dive into the legacy of Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, now a half-decade old, and a photographic journey through Brick, Looper, Breaking Bad and more featuring Johnson’s own archive of on-set snaps.

All that, plus this issue finds us talking to original Knives Out alum Ana de Armas about inhabiting Marilyn Monroe for no-holds-barred bio-drama Blonde, getting the word on Billy Eichner’s revolutionary gay romcom Bros, gleaning the secrets of a brutal set-piece from Gangs Of London’s action-packed second season, catching up with Sylvester Stallone to talk his new mobster role, sitting down with the legendary Pam Grier for a career-spanning interview, and much much more. Order your copy now, and start unpeeling the layers of Benoit Blanc’s latest mystery.